Parliament, Wednesday, 6 December 2023 – The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) today passed the National Health Insurance Bill. The Bill was passed by the National Assembly (NA) on 12 June this year and sent to the NCOP for concurrence.
One of the key purposes of the Bill is to establish a National Health Insurance (NHI) Fund and to set out its powers, functions, and governance structures. The Fund will purchase healthcare services for all users who are registered with it.
The Bill seeks to realise universal health coverage for all. This means that every South African will have the right to access comprehensive healthcare services free of charge at the point of care at accredited health facilities, such as clinics, hospitals, and private health practitioners.
The Bill will also create mechanisms for the equitable, effective, and efficient use of the fund’s resources to meet the health needs of users and prevent or limit undesirable, unethical and unlawful practices relating to the Fund. It further seeks to address barriers to access.
During the same plenary, the NCOP also passed two other bills – the Judicial Matters Amendment Bill and the Regulation of Interception of Communication-Related Information Amendment (RICA) Bill. The two bills were passed by the National Assembly (NA) and were sent to the NCOP for concurrence.
The Judicial Matters Amendment Bill is aimed at amending various acts administered by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. These amendments are being introduced to address practical and technical issues, to comply with court judgments, align with advancements in technology, to improve reporting procedures, and to ensure the effective administration of justice in various areas of the law.
The Criminal Procedure Act of 1977 is among the acts the Bill amends. One of the amendments provides for the expungement of criminal records of people who paid admission of guilt fines for breaching Covid-19 lockdown regulations. It also amends the Magistrates’ Courts Act of 1944, to further regulate the calling of a witness by the court. The Bill also seeks to amend the Administration of Estates Act of 1965, to make provision for electronic payments.
Meanwhile, the RICA Bill seeks to amend the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act of 2002. The amendments followed an application for a declaratory order by Amabhungane in the Constitutional Court. In September 2022, the Constitutional Court judgment cited the principal Act’s failure to provide adequate safeguards to protect the right to privacy as buttressed by the rights of access to courts, freedom of expression, the media, and legal privilege.
The Court declared the Act unconstitutional to the extent that it fails adequately to prescribe procedures to ensure that data obtained following the interception of communications is managed lawfully and not used or interfered with unlawfully. The Court imposed a deadline of 4 February 2024 for the completion of this process and remedy the situation.
The bills will now be sent to the President for assent.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
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